The reviewer didn't think too much of "A Piece of Paradise" but agreed that "Solomon" is the show's finest hour. Whatever the case, the two episodes are the very best that STACCATO has to offer.

This show really is everything that PETER GUNN should've been, but sure as hell wasn't. Give me the fire and passion of the tightly-wound John Cassavetes over the blah Craig Stevens any day. Same goes for Elmer over Hank...

Don't have it! I've only heard a couple of tracks that appear on Capitol's "Ultra Lounge" series. I liked what I heard, especially when one consoders the era in which it was recorded. The remastering on that series was quite good, at least to these tin ears, as were the STACCATO tracks that were on another entry of that series.

Well, it not a real soundtrack at all. It's a set of French evergreen songs (La vie en rose, Les feuilles mortes, etc.) orchestrated in a Shorty Rogers style. Besides there are Cole Porter and Vernon Duke faux-French compositions andonly two originals by Elmer Benstein's: Adieux d'amour and Souvenir de Printemps.

Well, it not a real soundtrack at all. It's a set of French evergreen songs (La vie en rose, Les feuilles mortes, etc.) orchestrated in a Shorty Rogers style. Besides there are Cole Porter and Vernon Duke faux-French compositions andonly two originals by Elmer Benstein's: Adieux d'amour and Souvenir de Printemps.

I've delved back into STACCATO again and am impressed with how they got away with some of the subject matter.

In Nature of the Night, a young Dean Stockwell is a disturbed young man who's been slashing the faces of pretty blonde girls. After abandoning his bartending job at "Waldo's", Staccato gives Stockwell grief for flying the coup. After giving him some lame excuse, Staccato replies, "Yeah? And I've got two words for you!" Of course those two words weren't "Love ya", but pretty explicit stuff for 1959. Later, as he's threatening to commit suicide from a ledge, Stockwell goes on about his nervous breakdown and mentions shock treatments. Did other shows talk about these things in 1959?

Amusing bit when the "brick" wall bends like it's made of rubber; something I hadn't noticed the first few times I saw this one.

Beautifully-lit and wonderfully directed (Boris Sagal), Cassavetes is always electric and I have to smile proud whenever he jumps into "Victor Franko" territory. Elmer B's scoring is appropriately punchy and effective. There are bongos heard on the soundtrack and Jack "Mr. Bongo" Costanza plays also has a cameo.